A New PhD’s Mission: To Provide Support Systems That Help At-Risk Students Stay in School

Driven by a desire to keep young people out of the criminal justice system, Alicia Wilson, PhD '24, left her job in mental health to become a leader in the social work profession.

Twenty years ago as a mental health clinician in New York City's juvenile justice system, Alicia Wilson, PhD '24, saw how acts by disadvantaged children and adolescents forever closed the door on their education.

Determined to help young people avoid the criminal justice system, she left her job to become a school social worker. "I wanted to reach my clients before they reached me," she said.

In that role, however, she saw how students fall through the cracks as a result of academic struggles and unaddressed mental health issues. She felt that schools were not providing the holistic support their students needed.

Young People "Needed a Voice" to Avoid Criminal Justice

Then one day she got a flier in the mail about Adelphi's PhD in Social Work program. It came at the right time because she had been thinking she needed to get involved at a policymaking level to help her students via early intervention. She says she was tired of seeing children pushed out of public schools because they had a minor run-in with the law at age 10. "I saw that urban children didn't get the services they needed if they didn't have someone fighting for them," Dr. Wilson says. "I realized those kids needed a voice and I decided to become that voice."

Now, having earned her PhD at Adelphi in May 2024, she's serving as that voice. And she said she couldn't have gotten to where she is today without Adelphi.

"Everything that I learned at Adelphi has supported me in becoming a better advocate and policymaker," she said. "I help children with what I learned at Adelphi. I am able to support the most vulnerable students and advocate for a more comprehensive approach to education using my newfound research abilities."

Discovering a Love for Research

When Dr. Wilson received the flier from Adelphi, she found the idea of getting a PhD intimidating. She had already earned a Master of Social Work, but she had a full-time job and a part-time job to obtain her clinical license. How could she squeeze in time for doctoral work?

"I thought, 'It won't kill me to go to orientation and learn about this,'" she said. She went to orientation and left feeling like she could handle it. "After meeting Dr. (Philip) Rozario and Dr. (Roni) Berger, I was like, 'You know what, why not just give this a try?'"

She enrolled in the program, and working diligently while juggling her many responsibilities, earned her degree after 10 years. Along the way, she served as an adjunct professor at Adelphi and she learned to love research.

"You could never have told me that I would enjoy research and policy writing," she said, "but my classes and my conversations with my professors at Adelphi helped me find my trajectory and my talents." She said she learned to use research to solve problems that had stumped her before.

She's now the New York regional director of social work for Uncommon Schools, a company that runs charter schools in the New York City area. Dr. Wilson oversees the social work department across 23 New York City charter schools supervising 41 school social workers. Her focus is on providing Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTTS), a preventive framework designed to reduce suspensions, improve academics and promote wellness. The program involves the entire school community, getting social workers, superintendents, teachers, parents and students to work together. "I create an umbrella of support," she said.

After Surviving 9/11, She Found Inspiration

Dr. Wilson got a BA in Psychology and was working on Wall Street near the World Trade Center on 9/11. "I watched through the back windows of my office at the American Express Tower blow out when the towers fell," she recalled. "I ran down 27 flights of stairs to escape. Some of my colleagues didn't get out."

Dr. Wilson says she didn't even know what a social worker was before 9/11, but a social worker helped her pull herself together after the tragedy. "I had never dealt with losing colleagues and going to funerals with no bodies. The social worker helped me figure out all the pain, and I decided I wanted to help people who have experienced trauma like this."

The experience encouraged her to return to school to get an MSW. When she earned her degree she began working in the juvenile justice system. Because of her desire to help students avoid the criminal justice system, she became the director of student support services for ROADS Charter High Schools-one of New York City's first charter school systems to enroll at-risk students who wanted to get back into high school and get their diploma. In that position, she developed a socio-emotional support program for these students that trained school staff members to meet the needs of their students.

"I reminded the staff that these kids they see as gang members or aggressors are still someone's son or daughter, and they need our support to help them find their voice and their way," she said.

Dr. Wilson returned to school and began working in New York City schools with at-risk children while getting her MSW. After she got her degree, she began working as a mental health clinician at a New York City juvenile detention center, where she provided counseling to incarcerated youth and their families. The experience left her feeling like she needed to get involved earlier in their lives to keep them out of the criminal justice system. "Too many kids were being thrown out of the education system," she said. "It was heartbreaking."

A Nurturing Academic Environment

Through it all, Dr. Wilson has never lost sight of the support system that has served as her own foundation.

"I am deeply grateful for the unwavering support of my loved ones, colleagues and friends, who have been my rock throughout this journey," she said. "I am thankful for the inspiration and motivation I've received from my students, some of whom have gone on to become dedicated social workers themselves. I am also indebted to my professors at the Adelphi University School of Social Work for providing me with a nurturing academic environment."